Disclaimers of Warranty, Limitation of Liability, and Liquidation of Damages in Sales Transactions

This article will set forth and compare the domestic law of the United States and Japan, in the narrow field of law defined in the title. Many American lawyers may feel that these subjects do not deserve equal dignity with the preceding article on products liability. They are probably right, since no amount of care or study in drafting disclaimers and limitations will protect against suit for personal injuries suffered, say, by a stevedore who steps through a hollow spot in a wrapped bundle of household doors. Moreover, this topic obviously covers only a small part of the general subject of products liability, a branch of the law undergoing rapid changes in the United States and commanding increasing attention in all its facets from the bar, the business community, the consuming public, and the federal and state governments

Disclaimers of Warranty, Limitation of Liability, and Liquidation of Damages in Sales Transactions

This article will set forth and compare the domestic law of the United States and Japan, in the narrow field of law defined in the title. Many American lawyers may feel that these subjects do not deserve equal dignity with the preceding article on products liability. They are probably right, since no amount of care or study in drafting disclaimers and limitations will protect against suit for personal injuries suffered, say, by a stevedore who steps through a hollow spot in a wrapped bundle of household doors. Moreover, this topic obviously covers only a small part of the general subject of products liability, a branch of the law undergoing rapid changes in the United States and commanding increasing attention in all its facets from the bar, the business community, the consuming public, and the federal and state governments

Effect van concentratie en besmettingsmethode op mate van aantasting van begonia door Fusarium foetens : onderzoek naar ontwikkeling en bestrijding/beheersing van Fusarium foetens in Begonia

Sinds twee jaar wordt in de begoniateelt uitval gevonden veroorzaakt door een nieuwe Fusarium vaatschimmel welke recentelijk de naam Fusarium foetens gekregen heeft. Uitval op verschillende bedrijven is aanzienlijk en aantasting is moeilijk te beheersen en te bestrijden. DLV Facet heeft in samenwerking met Praktijkonderzoek Plant & Omgeving Business Unit Glastuinbouw en Naktuinbouw een stappenplan (4 fasen) uitgewerkt waarmee in de praktijk een verbeterde beheersing van de ziekte gerealiseerd moet worden. In dit korte verslag worden de resultaten van enkele proeven beschreven waarbij het effect van concentratie en besmettingsmethode op mate van aantasting van begonia door Fusarium foetens bestudeerd is. De doelstelling van het hier beschreven onderzoek is te bepalen wat de invloed van infectiedruk op de mate en snelheid van aantasting van F. foetens op begonia is

Handling missing covariate data in clinical studies in haematology

Missing data are frequently encountered across studies in clinical haematology. Failure to handle these missing values in an appropriate manner can complicate the interpretation of a study's findings, as estimates presented may be biased and/or imprecise. In the present work, we first provide an overview of current methods for handling missing covariate data, along with their advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore, a systematic review is presented, exploring both contemporary reporting of missing values in major haematological journals, and the methods used for handling them. A principal finding was that the method of handling missing data was explicitly specified in a minority of articles (in 76 out of 195 articles reporting missing values, 39%). Among these, complete case analysis and the missing indicator method were the most common approaches to dealing with missing values, with more complex methods such as multiple imputation being extremely rare (in 7 out of 195 articles). An example analysis (with associated code) is also provided using hematopoietic stem cell transplantation data, illustrating the different approaches to handling missing values. We conclude with various recommendations regarding the reporting and handling of missing values for future studies in clinical haematology. Development and application of statistical models for medical scientific researc

Multiple imputation for cause-specific Cox models: assessing methods for estimation and prediction

In studies analyzing competing time-to-event outcomes, interest often lies in both estimating the effects of baseline covariates on the cause-specific hazards and predicting cumulative incidence functions. When missing values occur in these baseline covariates, they may be discarded as part of a complete-case analysis or multiply imputed. In the latter case, the imputations may be performed either compatibly with a substantive model pre-specified as a cause-specific Cox model [substantive model compatible fully conditional specification (SMC-FCS)], or approximately so [multivariate imputation by chained equations (MICE)]. In a large simulation study, we assessed the performance of these three different methods in terms of estimating cause-specific regression coefficients and predicting cumulative incidence functions. Concerning regression coefficients, results provide further support for use of SMC-FCS over MICE, particularly when covariate effects are large and the baseline hazards of the competing events are substantially different. Complete-case analysis also shows adequate performance in settings where missingness is not outcome dependent. With regard to cumulative incidence prediction, SMC-FCS and MICE are performed more similarly, as also evidenced in the illustrative analysis of competing outcomes following a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The findings are discussed alongside recommendations for practising statisticians.Development and application of statistical models for medical scientific researc

The Newberry Deep Drilling Project (NDDP) workshop

The important scientific questions that will form the basis of a full proposal to drill a deep well to the ductile–brittle transition zone (T&gt;400&thinsp;°C) at Newberry Volcano, central Oregon state, USA, were discussed during an International Continental Drilling Program (ICDP) sponsored workshop held at the Oregon State University-Cascades campus in Bend, Oregon, from 10 to 13 September 2017. Newberry Volcano is one of the largest geothermal heat reservoirs in the USA and has been extensively studied for the last 40 years. The Newberry Deep Drilling Project (NDDP) will be located at an idle geothermal exploration well, NWG 46-16, drilled in 2008, 3500&thinsp;m deep and 340–374&thinsp;°C at bottom, which will be deepened another 1000 to 1300&thinsp;m to reach 500&thinsp;°C. The workshop concluded by setting ambitious goals for the NDDP: (1) test the enhanced geothermal system (EGS) above the critical point of water, (2) collect samples of rocks within the brittle–ductile transition, (3) investigate volcanic hazards, (4) study magmatic geomechanics, (5) calibrate geophysical imaging techniques, and (6) test technology for drilling, well completion, and geophysical monitoring in a very high-temperature environment. Based on these recommendations, a full drilling proposal was submitted in January 2018 to the ICDP for deepening an existing well. The next steps will be to continue building a team with project, technology, and investment partners to make the NDDP a reality.</p

On Passion and Sports Fans:A Look at Football

The purpose of the present research was to test the applicability of the Dualistic Model of Passion (Vallerand et al., 2003) to being a sport (football) fan. The model posits that passion is a strong inclination toward an activity that individuals like (or even love), that they value, and in which they invest time and energy. Furthermore, two types of passion are proposed: harmonious and obsessive passion. While obsessive passion entails an uncontrollable urge to engage in the passionate activity, harmonious passion entails a sense of volition while engaging in the activity. Finally, the model posits that harmonious passion leads to more adaptive outcomes than obsessive passion. Three studies provided support for this dualistic conceptualization of passion. Study 1 showed that harmonious passion was positively associated with adaptive behaviours (e.g., celebrate the team’s victory), while obsessive passion was rather positively associated with maladaptive behaviours (e.g., to risk losing one’s employment to go to the team’s game). Study 2 used a short Passion Scale and showed that harmonious passion was positively related to the positive affective life of fans during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, psychological health (self-esteem and life satisfaction), and public displays of adaptive behaviours (e.g., celebrating one’s team victory in the streets), while obsessive passion was predictive of maladaptive affective life (e.g., hating opposing team’s fans) and behaviours (e.g., mocking the opposing team’s fans). Finally, Study 3 examined the role of obsessive passion as a predictor of partner’s conflict that in turn undermined partner’s relationship satisfaction. Overall, the present results provided support for the Dualistic Model of Passion. The conceptual and applied implications of the findings are discussed

The effect of pH, grain size, and organic ligands on biotite weathering rates

Biotite dissolution rates were determined at 25 °C, at pH 2–6, and as a function of mineral composition, grain size, and aqueous organic ligand concentration. Rates were measured using both open- and closed-system reactors in fluids of constant ionic strength. Element release was non-stoichiometric and followed the general trend of Fe, Mg > Al > Si. Biotite surface area normalised dissolution rates (ri) in the acidic range, generated from Si release, are consistent with the empirical rate law: ri=kH,iaxiH+ where kH,i refers to an apparent rate constant, aH+ designates the activity of protons, and xi stands for a reaction order with respect to protons. Rate constants range from 2.15 × 10−10 to 30.6 × 10−10 (molesbiotite m−2 s−1) with reaction orders ranging from 0.31 to 0.58. At near-neutral pH in the closed-system experiments, the release of Al was stoichiometric compared to Si, but Fe was preferentially retained in the solid phase, possibly as a secondary phase. Biotite dissolution was highly spatially anisotropic with its edges being ∼120 times more reactive than its basal planes. Low organic ligand concentrations slightly enhanced biotite dissolution rates. These measured rates illuminate mineral–fluid–organism chemical interactions, which occur in the natural environment, and how organic exudates enhance nutrient mobilisation for microorganism acquisition